Lifestyles: Former Penn Goalie Waxman Talks Yoga,
Mindfulness

A trio of circumstances sent former Penn All-American goalie
Sarah Waxman on a journey toward spiritual, mental, and physical
health and happiness. They also led Waxman to her current
profession. After graduating from Penn in 2008 and traveling for a
year, Waxman returned to her native Washington D.C. to become a
yoga and mindfulness coach, teaching mostly children in schools
while offering private lessons to adults.

A version of this article appears in the November issue of
Lacrosse Magazine, the flagship publication of US
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How did you get into yoga?
First, at the end of my sophomore year at Penn, I started getting
a lot of shoulder and back pain. I was spending a lot of time in
the training room. As a team, we weren't having the year we had
hoped, and as a player, I wasn't playing the way I wanted to. My
trainer told me, "Yo, Waxman, try something else. Do something
that's going to make you better.' There was a yoga studio between
my house and the field, and I passed it every day multiple times.
They offered a newbie special, and I sat in with Chrissy Muller and
Sarah Eastburn. The teacher said, "Inhale, bring your hands to the
sky, exhale, touch your toes." The three Division I athletes in the
back of the room were the only ones who couldn't touch their toes.
It was a wakeup call for me. I was supposed to be this really fit
person, a Division I athlete, and I didn't have the flexibility to
touch my toes? I was a goalie. You've got to be agile, quick and
move your body. Yet I was stiff all over. I loved yoga the first
class. I felt so awesome. I kept going, because of the way I was
seeing benefits with my body. But I realized there was a lot more
to yoga than just getting flexible.

Second, I grew up going to a Quaker school. Quakers sit in
silence for their worship. Even though I'm Jewish, I was always
raised in a Quaker education. We practiced silence, and that was a
foundation for more meditation and visualization practice. My
sophomore year at Penn, I had trouble clearing the ball. I would
make a save, and I would drop the ball in the back of the crease,
and our fastest defender, Kate Parker, would pick the ball up and
sprint 70 yards down field — all because I couldn't clear the
ball. That was kind of a disaster. This was all around the same
time when coach Karin Brower Corbett had me go to our sports
psychiatrist. I started working on visualization. I started reading
books on visualizing.

Third, I was a pretty heavy kid in high school. I was the kid
who got put in goal because I was the heavy kid. There was no way I
was running down the field like a midfielder. I was about 80 pounds
heavier then than I am now. I started losing weight during high
school. I really started being conscious of my body, and
recognizing it as a holy temple that I need to take care of.

Any similarities between yoga and lacrosse?
My lacrosse was giving me more things to work with on my mat, and
my mat was giving me more things to work on with my lacrosse. I see
those two as very connected. Athletes should have time,
understanding the relationship of your mind, body and heart. It's
something everybody should be doing. Not just yoga, but body
movements in general, something that's bringing in a component of
mindfulness.

There's nothing that's going to work for everybody. That's the
thing in health that nobody tells you. No diet, no lifestyle works
for everybody the same. Everyone's body is different. Everyone's
lifestyle is different. You need to figure out what works for you.
Yoga works tremendously for me, and it's something I can rely on
for the rest of my life. But it's not necessarily for everybody. I
encourage everybody to find what's best for them — to find
the spiritual connection between mind and body and spirit that
works for them.

Why is that important?
When we're not taking care of ourselves, it's because of something
going on in our life that's troubling, and you're taking out by
jeopardizing your health. It's often really easy to take care of
ourselves when we have really good things in our life. The most
important time to take care of yourself is when there are struggles
coming up, or you're in training. It's important to eat right,
stretch out your body and get enough sleep. Getting yourself in an
environment of people who are also interested in living that
lifestyle is important. That's not saying you can't enjoy a
tailgate after a win. Live your life 90 percent healthy, and 10
percent whatever you want.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I've never been the kind of person who's able to plan that far in
advance. I could never have dreamed up this job, even though what I
do now is my dream job. I'm not sure where I'm going to be, but
hopefully it's something I'm passionate about and of service to the
world.

I hope that every school in the country has a three-part
schooling in a healthy lifestyle — body movement,
understanding the mind and eating choices. Those three things
should be taught to kids at 2 years old, all the way up until they
graduate high school. Understanding our ability to do amazing
things also comes from the same place that holds us back —
our mind can play very big tricks on us.

What's your favorite Penn lacrosse memory?
I have so many memories. I think about them all the time. It was a
huge part of my life, and a very challenging one too. I love Penn
lacrosse so much. I love my teammates. I love what I learned from
that experience. I was part of a 10-person class at Penn. When we
came in, Penn wasn't in the top 20. As a freshman, we finished
20th. As a sophomore, we finished 15th. As a junior, we finished
fourth. As a senior, we finished second. I was there at a time when
we were the bridge for bringing Penn from a mid-level team to a
top-ranked team.

I have distinct memories of key moments. Just little clippings
of time: making a key save against Duke in double overtime,
clearing the ball down field about 50 yards against Syracuse. All
the things I had been working on for four years — every day,
all summer, even when I was walking to classes — to be able
to be in the moment was rewarding. Those small moments are the ones
I carry with me and think about often, more so than the
celebrations. I always say I've stopped playing lacrosse, but I
went out on top.